Leaping into experience-driven learning

Live It Learn It’s Spring Quarterly Update

Four times a year Live It Learn It publishes a newsletter called the Quarterly Update (QU). It highlights the new and noteworthy events in student programming and for the organization more broadly. You will also find stories from the field, which capture the great moments that happen during our units.

The Spring QU is all about growth. In the updates, you will meet our new high school interns, learn how we are expanding our reach online, hear about how our programmatic offering is expanding to include second grade, and much more. Enjoy what follows!

Programming Updates

Garbology – This spring we are partnering with the Audubon Naturalist Societyto offer Garbology to 2nd grade students from Beers ES, Kimball ES, and Simon ES. Garbology is a hands-on science curriculum that allows students to discover how trash can affect the environment and what humans can do to reduce waste. We are excited to foster the next generation of eco-friendly citizens.

In Your Backyard – Teachers and students from Orr ES were smitten with Anacostia’s own Cedar Hill. “My students loved the Frederick Douglass house,” said a 4th grade teacher, “They have not stopped talking about it. I wasn’t aware how cool this experience would be for my students!”

Growing in the Garden – Twice a week you can find LILI staff at the U.S. Botanic Garden leading interactive activities for visiting students. Recently, a school group entered the Garden and our educator immediately heard students exclaiming, “Live It Learn It!” The students were 6th graders at Johnson Middle School. Although we do not work at Johnson, many of the students knew LILI from their time at Garfield ES. The students felt like celebrities because they were known and recognized by an educator outside of the school building, and they were eager to show their teachers and classmates that they knew how to engage with informal learning spaces.

Organizational Updates

Urban Alliance Interns – We are proud to welcome two high school interns who join us through Urban Alliance. Alexis attends Kipp DC College Preparatory and wants to study social work in college. Kendall is interested in becoming an athletic trainer after she graduates from Cardozo Education Campus. Both young women have quickly become an important part of the team by joining us on field experiences, participating in staff meetings, and by creating and preparing student programming materials.

Grow with Us! –On May 18, join us for an exhilarating evening of arts and education at the Kreeger Museum. This annual fundraising event will honor Patrick Campbell, the LILI Chairman of the Board since 2005. At the event, you will participate in hands-on activities, meet our students, and tour a world-class museum. This will be a great way for you to immerse yourself firsthand in the experiences you read about in our newsletter and on the blog!

stories from the field

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum – Recently, during a field experience at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, 6th graders had the unique experience of meeting and speaking with a female Holocaust survivor.

Before the visit, students studied events that led to World War II through journal entries from a fictional Jewish boy named Daniel. With this base of prior knowledge, students were able to ask the survivor thoughtful questions like, “What kept you motivated to want to stay alive?” The students listened with rapt attention and were eager to learn as much as they could from a person who lived through what they had learned about with Live It Learn It.

Through reading journal entries, exploring museum exhibits, and reflecting at the Children’s Tile Wall, students gained an understanding of how children, families, and individuals were treated during this time in history. The classroom teacher noted that this was an important experience and went on to say that “students were able to make profound connections between the Holocaust and the African-American experience in the United States.”

National Gallery of Art – Sculpture – It might look like this student is holding a paperclip chain—in fact, it’s his very own mobile! This student could not wait for us to hand out sculpting materials; instead he brought his own so he could sculpt on the bus.

During our classroom pre-lesson, 4th grade students learned about Alexander “Sandy” Calder and his invention of the mobile. His exciting sculptures hang from the ceiling and gently move through the air. One student said, “With Live It Learn It, I learned that Sandy’s favorite material was wire and that’s how mobiles are connected!” By the end of the unit, students not only see mobiles but also create mobiles of their own with materials we provide.

Mariel Smith is originally from outside of Baltimore and grew up visiting museums in Maryland and Washington, DC. Those early experiences gave her the strong belief that museums and historic sites are perfect places to learn, explore, and have fun. She has a B.A. in English literature from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in museum studies from New York University. Committed to sharing her passion for informal hands-on education, Mariel has worked in museums in Washington, DC and New York City, as well as abroad in London, England. She is proud to be a part of Live It Learn It where she can use her teaching experience and passion for learning to help students explore the wonderful history and resources DC has to offer. Outside of work Mariel loves to read, bake cookies, and watch Star Wars.